A WHO mission comprising public health experts and epidemiologists will be arriving in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in the coming days. The team has been invited at the request of the Government to support the Tajik authorities in preparing for and getting ready to manage the emergence and potential spread of COVID-19. They will be meeting with high-level officials, public health counterparts and health professionals, working together to assess the risks and understand the situation on the ground, and help develop the response mechanisms, including laboratory capacity.
WHO expresses its appreciation to the Tajik authorities for facilitating the mission, and working in partnership to address the challenge of COVID-19. The WHO Regional Office for Europe has a longstanding collaboration with Tajikistan. Since it was established in 1992, the WHO Country Office in Tajikistan has provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in strengthening the public health system in the country.
Over the past two months, WHO/Europe has organized around 60 COVID-19 related missions to countries in the Region, delivering technical guidance on a range of issues including laboratory support, disease surveillance, operational planning, and hospital preparedness. Despite the current challenges of border closures and limited air transport, WHO continues to send its experts to support countries at their request, wherever it is needed.
